Miss Janowicz, Graves united in marriage

Posted: Thursday, December 2, 2010 11:48 am

The Messenger 12.01.10

Katie Lynne Janowicz of Memphis and Jake William Graves of Lakeland were recently united in marriage in a ceremony held at the Platinum Wedding Chapel at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel in Las Vegas.
The bride is the daughter of Mrs. John Traverse and Dr. Andrew Henry Janowicz, both of Memphis. She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Skip Rohrabaugh of New Cumberland, Pa., and Mr. and Mrs. Hank Janowicz of Elyria, Ohio.
The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph William Graves Jr. of Union City.
The Rev. Rudy G. Aguilar of Las Vegas performed the ceremony.
Musical selections, including, “All I Need,” “In the Waiting Line” and “Lost Without You” by various artists, were played before the ceremony began.
The couple exchanged vows in front of a glass wall overlooking the beautiful Nevada desert landscape. Bouquets of calla lilies in large glass pillars adorned each side of the altar. The scene was softened by the glow of floating votives atop crystal columns marking the aisle.
Serving as maid of honor was Brittany Dawn McManus of Memphis, childhood friend of the bride. Bridesmaids were McCall Anne Graves, sister of the groom, of Nashville; Shannyn Stuart Janowicz, sister-in-law of the bride, of Buena Vista, Calif.; and childhood friends of the bride, Carrie Anne Jackson and Moria Donati, both of Memphis. They wore black strapless dresses accented at the waistlines with red jewel- encrusted feather flowers and finished with bubble hems. They wore red shoes of their choice to complement their dresses.
The father of the groom served his son as best man. Groomsmen were James Andrew Pardue, cousin of the groom, of San Jose, Calif.; Philip Andrew Janowicz, brother of the bride, of Buena Vista; and college friends of the groom, Brandon Nicolas Beck of Denver, Colo., and Evan Braydenbah of Nashville. They were attired in black suits and white shirts and each wore a Vineyard Vines tie, specially chosen and given to him by the groom.
The groom was attired in a Ralph Lauren black suit with a red Vineyard Vines tie and a white shirt.
The mothers and grandparents were seated as “Gather to the Chapel” was played. The bride’s mother, escorted by her son, wore a cocktail-length A-line dress in a red and black cabbage rose over white floral pattern. The groom escorted his mother to her place of honor. She chose a brushed gold shantung silk two-piece evening suit highlighted by a champagne pleated portrait collar gracing down the front to Austrian crystal buttons. Pearl strand necklaces, worn by both mothers, were gifts from the bride and groom. Additional places of honor were given to the bride’s grandparents.
The bridesmaids, escorted by the groomsmen, entered the chapel to “At Last” played on the piano. Henry Purcell’s “Trumpet Tune,” also played on the piano, announced the entrance of the bride.
The bride was escorted down the aisle by her father and given in marriage by her parents. She wore a sleek silhouette sheath in diamond white silk taffeta that flowed into a full sweeping mermaid-style chapel-length train. The strapless sweetheart neckline of the bodice was draped with ruche pleating and was accented with Austrian crystals at her petite waistline. She complemented her attire with red peep toe high heels.
A sheer illusion fingertip veil of white was loaned to her by her maid of honor as her “something borrowed.” Sewn inside her gown were two pieces of lace, one each from the wedding dresses of her grandmothers, which served as her “something old.” A stunning blue topaz and diamond ring, given to her by long-time family friends Gary Smallwood and Mike Turbenville, was her “something blue” and her “something new” was a diamond bracelet, a gift from the groom to mark the occasion.
She completed her look with a diamond-drop necklace and earrings and carried a bouquet of 12 American Beauty roses bound along the length of their stems with red satin ribbon.
After the bride took her place beside the groom, they took turns reading personally-written vows via an iPad, a tribute to the groom’s profession. “Another One Bites the Dust” was played to signal the close of the service as the bride and groom, followed by the wedding party, exited to their own unique style of dance.
As a special surprise to the many family and friends in attendance, the couple presented each guest with a pair of gold Elvis sunglasses with attached sideburns for a fun and memorable group wedding photo to commemorate the fun time in Las Vegas.
RECEPTION
An elegant dinner reception, hosted by the groom’s parents, was held at Rick Moonan’s RM Seafood restaurant in the resort.
Guests enjoyed a delicious three-course candlelight dinner, beginning with a first course of BLT salad and California rolls, followed by the second course of filet mignon, pan roasted free range chicken and wild Alaskan king salmon served with garlic whipped potatoes and spinach, baby zucchini and corn succotash with lime butter.
Guests were given a choice of two cakes for dessert: a three-tiered vanilla wedding cake with fresh strawberry filling and butter cream icing, which was adorned with fresh American Beauty roses, or a three-tiered chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and fresh strawberry filling, which was decorated with a customized cake topper of the groom and his golden retriever and the bride and her cats.
Toasts were given by the groom’s father and the maid of honor.
Favors of decorative boxes containing scripted “Lucky” poker chips marked with 10-10-10, the wedding date, were given to the guests.
At the end of the reception, guests accompanied the bridal couple to the 60th floor penthouse suite in the hotel to enjoy the breathtaking nighttime view of Las Vegas and to continue the celebration into the night.
After honeymooning in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the newlyweds are now residing in Lakeland, where the bride is in human resources with Technicolor Home Entertainment Services of Memphis. She will complete her master’s degree in human resources in 2011.
The groom is employed with Apple Inc. in Germantown.

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